US confident of India handling Hazare situation democratically

The United States has reiterated its "confidence and expectation" that India would be able to address the situation in the wake of Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption through its own democratic system.

"Obviously, our Embassy has been monitoring the situation," State department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters on Thursday when asked if Washington was in touch with the Indian Government over Hazare's fast.

"And I think they have been saying the same thing in Delhi that we've been saying here with regard to our confidence and expectation that India is going to be able to address its internal matters, political disputes, through its own democratic system," she said.

Asked about protests by Indian Americans in support of Hazare in many US cities including one every day in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington for last one week, Nuland said: "Well, you know we support the right of peaceful protest, including and especially in the United States."

A couple of days ago also the spokesperson had used the same formulation. "We are confident that India is going to be able to address its current political disputes, its internal issues, through its own democratic system. We support peaceful protest. India has a strong, vibrant democracy, and that's where we stand."